Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression

During the Great Depression people suffered from lack of work, food and hope for the country and survival. America was ready for change and an end to the depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s New Deal programs would help the economic recovery. The New Deal dramatically increased the role of the government in American life and strengthened the power of the government. The “Three R’s” of the New Deal which are Relief, Recovery, and Reform. Many of the long lasting effects of the United States economy have brought economic stability to the country.

The programs of the New Deal had the three goals of relief for people who were suffering. Examples of programs that are part of the relief is that in 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) federally funded and provided jobs, cheap electricity, and flood control to poor rural areas and the Public Works Administration (PWA) which provides jobs through construction projects, such as bridges, housing, hospitals, schools, and aircraft carriers. The second goal was recovery for the economy for it to grow again. Programs that are part of the recovery program is the National Industrial Recovery Act (NRA) helped businesses to recover and the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) was created to help homeowners save their homes from foreclosures. The third goal was reform measures to avoid future depressions. In 1935 the Social Security Act is a combination of public assistance and insurance and the National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) guaranteed labor the right to for unions and practice collective bargaining. Many of these programs still exist today to help many people in society.

The New Deal had long lasting effects on the United States economy. The policies effects the social and ethnic groups. Native Americans were granted citizenship and tribal self-government as well as their language, customs, and religious. African Americans benefited less from the deal but later received some help and many moved...

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The GreatDepression
“Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort” (Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933). President Roosevelt stepped into office in the middle of everything hitting the fan. This is not an easy task to handle, he had millions of Americans looking up to him for guidance in what must have been the most darkest moment in history. A lot of things played a big part in the making of The GreatDepression. These things included the stock market crash of 1929, the New Deal, and World War II. The United States is still trying to recover from this big blow to our economy and to the lives of so many people.
October, 1929 began the most devastating economic collapse in modern history. People lost everything. Everyone was affected in some shape or form. To this day people that were alive back then still don’t trust the banks. They keep their money in boxes and hiding places around their home. The Depression traumatized them. Let’s talk about what happened prior to the stock market crash. Benjamin Roth recorded what he experienced before, during, and after the GreatDepression. He had just returned from world war I to Youngstown, Ohio where he says that, “I found business humming....

...﻿
Imagine witnessing the faces of hopeless starving young children, frantic men and women lining up in front of closed banks that held their life savings, and/or the homeless living in cardboard shantytown. America had been doing great in its industrial economy, that is until the GreatDepression. The GreatDepression was one of the darkest times in U.S. economic history leaving many Americans unemployed and struggling to survive. It all began with the stock market crash of 1929. The crash affected the banks and resulted in many people losing their investments and causing the public to panic. With America’s industrial production dropping by half and the number of homeless people rising, America had lost all hope.
Unemployment was on the rise with each year leaving many homeless and desperate for a way to make money. The amount of unemployed Americans reached its highest count in 1933 with 15 million Americans marking 1933 the worst year of the GreatDepression. Unemployment was so bad that the corners of New York city streets were crowded with people trying to sell apples, desperately looking for a way to make money. There were even food riots, people would break into grocery stores and steal any of the food they could get there hands on.
Crime rates soared as people were looking for a way to feed their families by either stealing money or even turning to mob leaders for...

...The GreatDepression
"In other periods of depression, it has always been possible to see some things which were solid and upon which you could base hope, but as I look about, I now see nothing to give ground to hope—nothing of man."
- Former President Calvin Coolidge, 1932
The 1920s was a time of roaring prosperity marked by booming business and negligible unemployment. Even during the October of 1929, the thought of poverty was close to an end. In fact, in 1928, President Herbert Hoover stated, “We have not yet reached the goal, but given a chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, and we shall soon with the help of God be within sight of the day when poverty will be banished from the nation”. The prescience of the end of poverty became known as the ‘American Dream’. However, this foresight was shortly lived. On Tuesday, March 26, 1929, the Hoover Administration saw the largest stock market crash of their administration to that date. Several months later brought Black Monday, the largest stock market crash in American history and the cardinal cause of what is now known as the ‘GreatDepression’.
The GreatDepression was an economic deficit with worldwide effects that began with the stock market crash of October 1929. The most profound effect of it was the highest rate of unemployment in American history as banks, factories, and...

...beginning of the GreatDepression.
3) New Deal- the historic period (1933-1940) in the U.S. during which President Franklin Roosevelt's economic policies were implemented. Three components of the New Deal. The first "R" was the effort to help the one-third of the population that was hardest hit by the depression, & included social security and unemployment insurance. The second "R" was the effort in numerous programs to restore the economy to normal health, achieved by 1937. Finally, the third "R" let government intervention stabilize the economy by balancing the interests of farmers, business and labor. There was no major anti-trust program.
4) 100 Days- FDR began sending bill after bill to Congress. Between March 9 and June 16, 1933 which came to be called the HUNDRED DAYS. Congress passed 15 major acts to meet the economic crisis setting a pace for new legislation that has never been equaled. Later became known as 1st New Deal.
5) Bank Holiday- closing of banks for four days during the GreatDepression, March 6-10. Roosevelt declared this holiday to prelude opening banks on a sounder basis.
6) Dust Bowl- Late in 1933 a prolonged drought struck the states of the trans-Mississippi Great Plains. The resulting dust storms were caused by drought, wind, and dry-farming techniques and mechanization. Tens of thousands of refugees fled their ruined acres.
7) Brain Trust- Group of expert...

... All types of people were affected by the GreatDepression. After the stock market crash in 1929, the country changed drastically. Many people lost their jobs because of this downturn in the economy. During the GreatDepression practically every person had to adjust to a different way of living than what they were used to. This paper explores how life changed for children, teenagers, African-Americans, farmers, women, and the middle class.
Historical Background
Many factors led up to the GreatDepression. Among these are: buying on margin, buying on credit, supply and demand, the stock market crash, and drought. With the popularity of the stock market in the 1920s, people would buy stocks on margin, which meant that people would buy stocks for a 10% down payment and then sell them for profit. This system worked until the late 20s when the stocks rose faster than the value of the companies they represented. Because of the economic boom of the 20s, people were buying cars, refrigerators, etc. that they did not have the money to pay for. They would pay for these things in installments or would buy on credit. After the stock market crash, people could not pay for these things and wound up in debt. As the need for these objects dwindled, factories cut back production and laid off many employees. In 1929 a few stock market investors began selling their stocks and...

...The GreatDepression
In America the 1920's were a decade of prosperity some every claimed that we had entered into
the age of permanent prosperity. Much of the world was still struggling to get over the affects of World
War I but the United States was thriving. The U.S. sentiment can be depicted from the lyrics of the song “…Blue skies, nothing but blue skies from now on…” that was composed in 1926 by Irving Berlin. However this sentiment would not last and American was soon to find that there is no such thing as permanent prosperity. Change was coming both in economics and climate and in turn policy; these changes were to bring the roaringtwenties to a dead stop. October 29, 1929 became known as Black Tuesday; the day the stock market crashed which marked the beginning of the GreatDepression.
The average American had been introduced to consumer credit throughout the twenties. With this new line of credit everyone was interested in the “buy now and pay later” scheme and there were so many new innovative inventions available such as radios, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners that every American thought they were entitled to. This was the dawn of the consumer revolution. The stock market had also become the ideal easy money maker for the everyday man but in many cases the big winners in the market were the ones with the most skin in the game.
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The GreatDepression
Part 1
Complete the chart by filling in each president’s views on the GreatDepression.
Herbert Hoover
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Causes of the GreatDepression
*Weak agricultural and industrial growth in the US was due to foreign competition with domestic businesses, and a solution that helped both domestic and foreign economies grow mutually was not necessary.
*The lack of individual and voluntary response to the depression, especially response from industry leaders, was the issue, and policies regarding “CEO philanthropy” should be encouraged in lieu of federal intervention.
*Lack of employment was due to a lack of public projects and improvements which needed to be slowly and cautiously funded and regulated.
Weak agriculture and industrial growth was due to a lack of regulation and required federal control and government loans to stop the spiraling depression in these sectors.
*Lack of unemployment was due to the lack of state and city government’s ability to sufficiently employ the vast unemployed young men in the US, and federal intervention was absolutely necessary.
*Lack of unregulated, unfair business practices in the industrial markets resulted in disenfranchised employees who worked too much for too little. Cutthroat competition between these types of companies resulted in low...

...During the GreatDepression the federal government implemented countless programs in attempt to stabilize America's economy and its people. These programs had both positive and negative results and although there were some confusions and contradictions as first, the New Deal did accelerate the U.S. economy by providing jobs for the unemployed and stimulating the economy through government deficit spending. With the use of this New Deal, Roosevelt has left a lasting legacy in the role of the federal government by creating lasting programs, satisfying many of the needs of the citizens, and increasing the federal government’s power.
Many government programs created from the New Deal are still intact today. The New Deal was a plan to bring economic relief, recovery, and reform to the nation. One such program created was Social Security, which was and still is among the most important parts of the New Deal. This Poster for Social Security, from the library of congress, 1935 (Document C) shows just how important this program was to the government and the people. From this image one can how the federal government assumed some responsibility for the economic well being of the people. It addressed elderly citizens’ lack of care, and provided money for those over 65. It encouraged people to apply for a social security number. Lastly details the eligibility for social security. Other programs still intact today include the (TVA) jobs in the Tennessee...